Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin was in Santa Fe on Tuesday to meet with other Trump cabinet secretaries and Western state and territorial governors to discuss public policy issues ranging from housing and outdoor recreation, to post-wildfire flooding and rural healthcare.
Zeldin, who worked as an attorney, politician, and an Army intelligence officer before he was appointed to lead the EPA, spent a majority of his keynote address in front of the governors of North Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah highlighting his efforts to rollback over 30 environmental regulations to “unleash American energy” and lower the cost of living.
“At EPA, it is a busy time for us, since President Trump was inaugurated for his current term in office,” Zeldin said.
The speech, and subsequent questions from the governors, touched on other aspects of the EPA’s policy stances on prescribed fire and man-made forever chemicals.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who also chaired the Western Governors’ Association this year, took the opportunity to ask how the agency will prioritize energy sector water reuse in a warming climate.
“We're working really hard to manage and promote that water reuse and water conservation,” Lujan Grisham said.
In response, Zeldin said part of the solution will be technical assistance, but also dollars.
“Now, as far as the amount of money that EPA gets to distribute funds to assist in this space, ultimately, that's decided at the end of this [reconciliation] process, with Congress appropriating.”
The U.S. Senate is currently debating the upcoming federal budget, the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
While acknowledging that money will be crucial to help states tackle environmental issues, Zeldin said the agency spends too much and claims he has dramatically reduced the amount the agency is spending by finding “efficiencies.”
From the outset, the proposed budget bill has faced strong pushback from community members.
The tension was palpable during the two-day meeting at the El Dorado Hotel and Spa in downtown Santa Fe, where crowds of protesters gathered on Monday, hoisting picket signs to oppose a controversial public land sale provision that was in the Senate’s version of the proposed budget.
The Republican-led push is a priority of Donald Trump’s administration and GOP leaders say the goal is to cut down on governmental spending and boost revenue.
For the EPA itself, cuts will focus on Biden-era grants and clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act in addition to preventing the implementation of a federal methane emissions rule.
When asked by KUNM how the EPA would respond if the methane emission rule is weakened by Congress, Zeldin said the agency will “fulfill” its statutory obligations.
Polls have consistently shown a majority of Americans in the West oppose any oil and gas rule rollbacks.
The megabill, as it stands, would also disproportionately benefit high-income earners, according to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Furthermore, the poorest households would be hit hardest – thanks to proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
The reconciliation process, where Senators review the bill sent from the U.S. House of Representatives, allows the Republican-dominated Senate to pass the bill with a simple 51-vote majority, bypassing a potential Democratic filibuster.
Though, on Monday the Senate parliamentarian – a nonpartisan advisor on parliamentary procedure and interpretation of Senate rules – notified members that some provisions of the budget bill are “extraneous,” meaning Republicans would need to meet a 60-vote threshold if the provisions remain.
While they could still be re-written, the at-issue provisions include an automatic waiver for the environmental review processes for offshore oil and gas projects, the mandate to sell millions of acres of public land, and a permit for a controversial Alaskan mining road.
Still, advocates are hopeful that the timely policy discussions in Santa Fe could spur meaningful dialogue.
Kristen Brengel, the National Parks Conservation Association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs told KUNM that large protests across the country show the need for state governors to push back against the reconciliation bill.
“Let's not make short term gains predominant over the long term of what Americans actually want and need,” Brengel said. “We need to preserve our places, and we can't just let energy dominance govern.”
GOP leadership wants to pass the bill before Congress recesses on Independence Day, which is unlikely given the need for another revision.
